Draplin Design Co.: In One Lump Sum. Finally.

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Draplin Design Co., North America

August 22, 2008

In One Lump Sum. Finally.

Posted at 05:09 PM

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Comments (15)

So a couple years back I got real fired up about my school loans, after realizing just how little headway I had made on the goddamn balance, after a half-a-decade of faithful, on-time payments. Nothing like a little financial reality to lift the spirits, right? I was so proud of my performance up to that point, and maybe that’s why it hurt like it did. I sweated each and every one of those payments and fought hard each month. Of course, I got myself into the damn thing, and pretty much knew what it would entail, but I was just floored to see how much I had paid, and how much I still owed. Old story, right? Hate me for for not knowing much, or any better, etc.

Well, fast forward three more years, jump online, log in, see the balance, get sad, get mean, get nasty, shed a couple years, yell a couple yells and then…

Write a fuckin’ check that just nips the whole thing in the bud.

Done. Just like that. I paid that sucker off today, once and for goddamn all.

(+) Walking a little lighter, as these words went to press.

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STUFFED INTO MY SEAT, THIS SAVED ME: Scorcese’s No Direction Home, on the iPhone! My mom is Dylan fan. Growing up, she told me stories of how the crowd turned on him when he “went electric” and I kinda knew what she was talking about, but, not really. When I originally saw this on PBS, it just flat out blew my mind. Some guts. Some vision. Then I went on a Dylan kick for a couple years. My first of that severity.

WHICH MEANS, WE’RE LISTENING TO THIS A WHOLE LOT NOW: Bob Dylan’s “Royal Albert Hall” performance.

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A COLD COKE, DOWN THE HATCH: Ben-O sends in a nice little map illustrating the “Generic Names For Soft Drinks By County” across the land. Ben lives in a city to the south of Portland called, “Los Angeles” known for it’s robusy entertainment industry and enchanting palm trees.

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ALL KINDS OF GREAT STUFF IN HERE: Uppercase has a little Flickr set called, “Old School,” and we dig it a whole bunch.

This shot got me way excited. And a little sad. See, I have a stool in Salt Lake City under the watchful gaze of J2. I left it behind a couple visits ago, and can’t wait to be reunited with it. Soon, I hope.

There Are 15 Comments

Rock on. I’ve been wanting to do that ever since the first day I saw my first statement. But every fucking day brings something else that means I won’t be able to ever do it.

Posted by: twoeightnine on 08/22/08 at 1:05 PM

Congrats on getting Sallie Mae off your back! That’s inspiring, even if I won’t be in position to do the same for a long, long time.

Posted by: Breck "Scrap Metal" Chumley on 08/22/08 at 1:16 PM

Yeah, had the student loans. But the way I look at it is that it was an investment to pave the way to what I’m doing. Still sucks though.

Posted by: Steve West on 08/22/08 at 1:42 PM

Lucky bastard! Some day…

…of course then I’ll go directly back into debt and buy a nice livaboard sailboat.

Posted by: gabriel amadeus on 08/22/08 at 1:45 PM

Right on! Congratulations! Seriously, paying off debt is the best thing ever. Well done.

Posted by: Doug Wilson on 08/22/08 at 2:56 PM

Getting out from underneath debt is one of the best feelings in life. I think you should celebrate by taking Gary wake surfing:

http://www.danopendygrasse.com/Details/details/blog_files/much_ado_about_surfing.php

Posted by: dano on 08/22/08 at 9:38 PM

Feels good, doesn’t it? I worked for a year as a deckhand, stuck on a research ship but I paid The Man off quick and man did it feel good. I wish I had done it with a cool orange envelope though.

(Hey! Doug Wilson commented above me! I bought a couple of his prints!)

Posted by: Paddysat on 08/22/08 at 11:34 PM

congrats, aaron! i did the exact same thing last december, and damn it felt good.

but, now i get to watch my younger sister (12 years younger) say to me as she takes out more and more student loans (for a school way too expensive for what she needs it for), “i’ll just be in debt for the rest of my life. who cares?” yeah, you’ll care someday, but for now, just go on, being your 19-yr old stubborn self, who doesn’t know any better. mwahahaha! she’ll learn, oh she’ll learn…

Posted by: jen on 08/23/08 at 6:33 AM

I love your choice of Superhero stamp.

CONGRATULATIONS!
I actually never applied for financial aid in fear of the backlash. Somehow I made it out alright, though am sure that there are others like myself who didn’t ask for the help, and just weren’t able to go on educationally.

It’s a shame how much wanting to learn can cost a person.

Posted by: Kim/. on 08/23/08 at 9:11 AM

Congrats. Big deal. You’ve just entered the upper class.

Posted by: haker on 08/25/08 at 7:55 AM

Congrats. Big deal. You’ve just entered the upper class.

Posted by: haker on 08/25/08 at 7:55 AM

Congrats. Big deal. You’ve just entered the upper class.

Posted by: haker on 08/25/08 at 7:55 AM

Congrats. Big deal. You’ve just entered the upper class.

Posted by: haker on 08/25/08 at 7:55 AM

i love ‘no direction home’. so raw and inspiring. the day it came out on dvd i left work early and rushed to the store as if there would be a line or something. should’ve been. suckers.

Posted by: Scott Steele on 08/25/08 at 8:55 PM

Good job A.
Next on the list is the house right?
Don’t let Fannie May in on your hard earned cash. If you look at how much you spend over a 30 year loan, you pay for your home 3 times. at least try to put 20%-50% more in on each payment so you can pay down that principal faster.

Posted by: Bry on 09/06/08 at 9:37 AM